Good quality coffee received bigger payments. In order to protect your revenues from coffee it is essential that you provide only the best quality commodity available.

Use Good Agricultural Practices to Achieve Results

1) During harvest

• The soil under tree should be covered with a clean sheet of plastic during picking to avoid cherries getting contaminated by dirt or mixed up with mouldy cherries("gleanings") from previous harvests.
• Cherries that have fallen to the ground are known to be susceptible to mould growth and therefore should not be picked.
• Process fresh cherries as quickly as possible. Avoid storage of cherries, especially ripe and overripe ones, as any period of storage( in a bag or in a pile) increases the likelihood of mould growth.
• Do not dry on bare soil: Use trays or tarpaulins. Mould spores from previous lots are known to remain on the ground and this could result on clean cherries being contaminated during drying.
• The layer of drying cherries should not be more than 4 cm thick after the first 2- 3 days of drying.
• Drying cherries must be regularly raked(S- 10 times per day).
• Protect Cherries during drying from rain and night dew.
• Avoid all rewetting of partially dried and dried cherries, protecting them from moisture and rain.


2) During primary processing Site


• processing plant in a dry area, not in a swamp.
• Only accept for processing cherries at a uniform moisture content as low as feasible, but certainly not higher than 12.5%
• Dispose of pulp from wet processing away from clean dry coffee. Compost it before using it as mulch in field.
• Keep equipment and facilities clean, separating residual partially processed material, and accumulation of dust and discarded material.
• Clean coffee from all husk material- more than 90 % of mould comes form husks in sun dried cherries.
• Remove any defects (husks, unhulled cherries or mouldy beans) as possible.
• Use clean bags for storing and transporting cleaned dried beans.
• Keep separate cleaned, dried beans from discarded material.
• Prevent recontamination by avoiding contact of clean green beans with dust, husks and dirty bags.
• Do not store cleaned, dry green coffee near rejects and husks.


3) During transport and storage


• Cover bags during transport and storage to prevent re-wetting.
• Load and unload trucks or containers only in dry weather or under cover.
• Do not use damaged containers and prevent water leaks.
• Make sure that pallets or wooden floors of trucks and container are dry.
• Store coffee in a well-ventilated and leak- proof ware houses. Store away from the walls.
• Cover bags/ loose beans 10 container with waterproof or water- absorbent cover to prevent re-wetting of the top layer of coffee from condensation.
• Provide good quality control tests and ensure that they are adhered to, especially to check for moisture and defects.

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